


Love Will Save You

by Melusine11



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anidala Parallels, Dark Rey (Star Wars), F/M, Grey Ben, Happy Ending, Light Angst, No Pregnancy, Palpatine mind manipulation, planet healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24025867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melusine11/pseuds/Melusine11
Summary: The last time they had seen one another, she had been wounded and angry, while he had been on his knees and remorseful as he watched her close the loading ramp of the flacon and the thing that connected them.And now they are here. Mustafar.She’s there, on the precipice of something dark and terrifying, he can feel it, now that they are close, can feel it roiling and snapping within her.Or the one in which Ben saves Rey for a change.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	Love Will Save You

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So I started writing this when we got that trailer/peek at dark!Rey and then kind of went meh with it just before TROS and then glared at it in my docs since then, and have now kind of stitched a hint of that in.

The last time they had seen one another, she had been wounded and angry, while he had been on his knees and remorseful as he watched her close the loading ramp of the flacon and the thing that connected them.

And now they are here. Mustafar.

She’s there, on the precipice of something dark and terrifying, he can feel it, now that they are close, can feel it roiling and snapping within her.

He follows her path, through the halls of his grandfather’s castle. Everything is barren, sleek and stark and cold, despite the heat of the planet that surrounded them. It was dim in here, lit only by the flowing magma outside now that this place was long abandoned. At least that had been what he had thought, what others had known. It had all been a lie. 

A deep gouge rakes the wall to his left, and unthinking, he reaches out to brush it. The feeling overcomes him in an instant, dark, and faded with time. The humming of a saber, a scream cut short, and then it was over, leaving him panting and shaking. He doesn’t know who it was that had died, trying to flee from Vader’s wrath, but he can sense their fear, his grandfather’s disappointment, and rage. He will need to be more careful with what he touches going forward.

On and on he walks, he doesn’t know where he was going, only where he needs to be, and that is with Rey.

Old parasteel doors, broken now, but stuck partway open were at the end of the hall, he hesitated for a moment, not sure what might lay beyond. It was going to be a tight fit, and they refused to budge even with some influence from the force, so he was left with no choice but to squeeze through.

As soon as his hand touches the surface of it though, he’s practically flung into the past. The force twists around him, full of anger and grief, remorse and acceptance, and then for the first time, he hears his grandmother’s voice. 

_I was so worried about you, Obi-Wan told me terrible things_ \- Ben feels practically bowled over by what she was feeling, and then a different voice cuts in, dark and serious.

_What things_

_He cares about us_

Ben almost tastes the accusation when the man asks, _Us?_

There’s no doubt in him now, this conversation happened between his grandparents before Anakin became Darth Vader.

_All I want is your love_

_Love won't save you_

It jumps and skips and he can feel the anger now, the determination from his grandfather as unanswered questions suddenly get answered.

_I won’t lose you the way I lost my mother, I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of...don’t you see, we don't have to run away anymore..._

_Together you and I can rule the galaxy, make things the way we want them to be_

Ben hisses, desperately wanting out of this now, but the force is holding strong.

_I don’t believe what I’m hearing, Obi was right, you’ve changed_

_Don’t you turn against me_ \- Ben feels like he can’t breathe, the heavy weight of the dark side of the force blankets him as Anakin begins to come undone-

_I don’t know you anymore. Anikin, you’re breaking my heart, you’re going down a path I can’t follow._

_Come back, I love you_

_Liar._

He falls from the memory with fingerprints on his throat and he has to take a moment to catch his breath before he attempts to get through the door again.

“Kylo Ren,” her lilting voice calls to him from the landing platform, now crumbling with age and disrepair. He recognizes their location, just as much a punch to the gut as her calling him Kylo once again.

Her skin is sallow, the sickly complexion looking worse against the black fabric of her hood.

He had wanted her in black once, had fantasized about her wrapped up in his cowl and only that. He could have taught her everything he knew, but instead, she ripped the knowledge from his mind and used it to defeat him time and time again.

The cost to see her here and now dressed head to toe in black though, he finds it’s not one he’s willing to pay.

“Rey,” he strides across the distance that separates them, “Rey, please.”

“Have you come to save me, Kylo Ren?” she asks, tone mocking. He flinches when she draws her weapon and ignites it, gapes in shock as she flicks her wrist and the weapon extends. 

Twin blades of red. The glow from her saber lights the right side of her face, highlighting the dark circles beneath her eyes. She had bled crystals. So had he. She can still come back to him, away from the dark.

“You’re too late.” Her posture is rigid as she stalks towards him. “There’s power here, _true_ power, why didn’t you ever take it?” She clicks her tongue and tilts her head as she surveys him, “too much of your father’s heart indeed.”

His own blade ignites and he rushes towards her. The red glow between them flares as their weapons collide and she grins. “Ready to lose so soon?”

He growls and blocks the next blow that comes towards him. Round and round they battle, blades clashing until they’re both panting for breath. When at last she disarms him, hilt of his saber skittering across the landing pad, he lifts his hands in surrender. 

“Rey,” he tries, heart aching. “Rey, please. I’ve tried, I couldn’t go where you’re going, don’t leave me here- you’re breaking my heart.” She snarls at him and he takes a step closer, hand stretching out to bridge the distance between them. 

“You don’t get to say that, not here, not now. You had your chance.”

“Rey–”

“No! You’ve spent your whole life afraid of who you are, who you could become, I refuse to be so torn. It’s my destiny.”

“Rey, no.” There’s a faint furrow to her brows and he steps even closer, pushing her weapon aside. “I spent my life with whispers in my mind, letting him twist me and turn me to his will. Don’t let him do the same for you. This isn’t you. I _know_ you, Rey. And I did it all wrong last time. You’re _everything_ to me. Not the power, not ruling anything. _You._ You’re my destiny, and I’m not going to let you fall. You saved me, let me save you now.”

Her lower lip wobbles, the fight and anger draining out of her in an instant, and then she takes in a stuttering breath. Ben tugs her to him as she drops her weapon, blades disengaging, and falling silent as it hits the ground. “Ben,” she sobs against the thick fabric of his tunic. “I don’t - I’m sorry, oh force, I almost—”

“Shhh, it’s alright, you didn’t. I know what it’s like. You don’t need to apologize to me. Now,” he says, pulling back and cupping her cheek, pushing the dark hood from her hair. “Let's get out of here, we have a shitty Sith Lord to dispose of.”

“Wait,” Rey begs, holding him in place. Ben refuses to shrink away from her scrutiny as she studies his face, and then she smiles, just a little. “You feel it, don’t you?” She asks quietly, turning in his arms to look around. 

He does.

The story of his grandparents is a closed book, but their pain and grief lingers like an oozing wound within the planet. Rey summons their weapons to her hands and sighs gently. “It’s going to be okay.” He can feel it in the Force as he takes his saber from Rey to clip it on his belt before taking her hand. It will be a slow process, but there is healing here now. He lifts their hands to kiss her knuckles, then leans closer to kiss her lips. She tastes like ash and blood and life and hope and Rey. He smiles down at her then presses a lingering kiss to her forehead.

“Together?” he asks. 

“Always.”


End file.
